This year has been non-existent as far as Tessellate is concerned, as we’ve been pre-occupied with our new sister label Whitelabrecs. We didn’t want the year to pass us by without any kind of release, so we are pleased to see the return of Spheruleus, who contributed our inaugrul release ‘Cyanometry’.

Sundials is a set of four mid-length electro acoustic drones complete with a bonus image for each track. The album is a study of time and the effect of the seasons which is depicted with a different colour filter being applied to an image of some leaves, taken by the artist. The album is available as a digital only release and you can check it out by hitting play above, or clicking HERE

Press release:
“Sundials is the new digital album by British artist Spheruleus which is the only release on Tessellate Recordings in 2016 as a quiet year draws to a close. Harry Towell returns as Spheruleus after his ‘Cyanometry’ album released back in 2012 and in ‘Sundials’, his chosen theme is time.

The four rustic drones that comprise ‘Sundials’ tell the never-ending story of the changing leaves as one season passes into the next: ‘Cultivating’ opens this 37 minute journey with a slow and ghostly guitar loop as time allows the leaves to grow and flourish. Next, ‘Weathering’ depicts the turning colours of Autumn then before long, the scattering wash of drones in ‘Falling’ paint a picture of magical coloured leaves falling from the sky. To close, ‘Withering’ portrays the sad tale of bare trees, as their leaves lay trampled into the ground.

Musically ‘Sundials’ sees Spheruleus draw from all of his previous work with another pastoral theme, however these mid-length tracks lean more towards Ambient/Drone as the electro acoustic sound sources of guitar, piano, violin, harmonica and voice blur into a reflective bed of harmonic bliss.

A key part of ‘Sundials’ is the artwork which was taken by the artist: as each track passes by, the leaves will change colour.”

We’ve taken delivery of most of the packaging materials here at Tessellate HQ and so we’re almost ready for this one to go up for pre-order. We’re just waiting on the inserts of the main cover artwork and then we’ll send a mail-out so you can secure your copy (See our ‘mailing list’ tab). There’s just 100 of these for the world – see above for a first glimpse of the packaging which features rubber stamp art using a sea green ink tone against a pure white card sleeve along with a vinyl-effect CDr of the album.

In conjunction with our preview of Sustainer’s ‘Taps’, the artist has put together a promotional video of minimalist sink-basin camera experiments – just hit play below.

Press release:Our next release is from Barcelona based artist Alex Alarcón, who has been recording as Sustainer since 2003. His work has appeared on labels such as Italic, Thinner, Enypnion and most recently the digital album ‘Radiolas’ on Room 40.
His sound is built around harmonic Ambient drones and in ‘Taps’, we are proud to present a short album of liquiform pieces which started life as tonal household objects, woven into a watery tapestry.

During the recording process, Alex searched for every resonant object in his home and found that metal, ceramic and crystal items were of particular use. These were struck with rubber-textile mallets and fed into a loop pedal via contact mics. Once these sounds and tones were collected, they were then carefully polished into fluid timbres, using various techniques.
He strived to create a record made entirely from the sounds of his environment, using his home as an instrument. He wanted to create textures that reflected the peace of home which could only be achieved there, since outdoor field recordings can be so noisy at times.

The final body of work serves as a wonderfully distant yet intimate soundtrack which is best enjoyed inside. Allow the dissolved melting pot of the various ‘taps’ to flow slowly; a viscous landscape for quiet contemplation.

For the first time ever, we’re about to manage two physical releases in one year! Next up is a beautiful short record from Spanish artist Sustainer which features hand made packaging and a white vinyl effect CDr. To check out a preview, hit play above whilst you take a read over the press release below. This release will be up for pre-order on Wednesday 25th of November

Press release:“Our next release is from Barcelona based artist Alex Alarcón, who has been recording as Sustainer since 2003. His work has appeared on labels such as Italic, Thinner, Enypnion and most recently the digital album ‘Radiolas’ on Room 40.
His sound is built around harmonic Ambient drones and in ‘Taps’, we are proud to present a short album of liquiform pieces which started life as tonal household objects, woven into a watery tapestry.

During the recording process, Alex searched for every resonant object in his home and found that metal, ceramic and crystal items were of particular use. These were struck with rubber-textile mallets and fed into a loop pedal via contact mics. Once these sounds and tones were collected, they were then carefully polished into fluid timbres, using various techniques.
He strived to create a record made entirely from the sounds of his environment, using his home as an instrument. He wanted to create textures that reflected the peace of home which could only be achieved there, since outdoor field recordings can be so noisy at times.

The final body of work serves as a wonderfully distant yet intimate soundtrack which is best enjoyed inside. Allow the dissolved melting pot of the various ‘taps’ to flow slowly; a viscous landscape for quiet contemplation.”

Catalog number: TSR008
Released 9th December 2015
Written and produced by Alex Alarcón
Mastering by Chris Leary, Melograf Mastering
Cover photography by Alex Alarcón
Packaging design by Harry Towell

After the release of our third volume of the Earthtones compilation series, we are pleased to announce our next physical edition ‘Sea Shores’ by German artist Polaroid Notes.
Officially released on the 19th May in a limited run of 100 copies. The packaging is a retro vinyl-effect CD with circular matt-white sleeves and double-sided artwork inside, designed by 1 0 0 5 2 0

To hear a preview, click play on the Soundcloud player below or click to play/purchase via Bandcamp above.

Press release:
Polaroid Notes is an artist born and raised in Munich, Germany and currently residing in the countryside near the Alps. Followers of our sister label Audio Gourmet will recall the artist’s debut EP ‘The Long Bright Dark’ and now we are proud to present the first full length Polaroid Notes album.

‘Sea Shores’ tries to capture the grandeur of the sea, its beauty and the deep unexplored secrets beyond. It reflects the transience of nature and its constant change. Whether it be towering mountains, expansive hot desert or the deep blue sea, the artist is influenced by the majestic width and overwhelming power of nature.
Sea Shores is cinematic in sound, as Polaroid Notes are spun from simple yet effected piano keys with wave upon wave of stark, arresting drones.

For this release, we have put together a limited edition package using retro vinyl-effect CDs with circular sleeves and stunningly minimal artwork by 0 1 0 0 5 2 0. There are just 100 copies available to the world and each copy is supplied with an immediate download which includes bonus black and white photographs for each track, taken by the artist between 1991 and 2015 at various lakes and sea-side locations including:
Bodensee, Chiemsee, Ammersee (all Bavaria/South Germany), Lake Geneva (Switzerland) Mediterranean Sea near Venice and Liguria (Italy) and Andalusia (Spain), Baltic Sea) and North Sea (North Germany), Atlantic Ocean (Bretagne/France)

Today we are proud to announce the release of the third edition of our Earthtones compilation series! Click play above to listen or ‘buy’ on the player below:

VARIOUS ARTISTS | EARTHTONES VOLUME 3

“After a short period of hiatus, we’re pleased to at last announce another release which sees the return of our popular Earthtones series. Now at Volume 3, Earthtones as a series has notched up some 74 contributions from a truly international selection of modern Ambient music artists.

Earthtones cross sections a range of the sub-styles of Ambient music, from warm shimmering tones, to lightly abrasive noise with a mix of both the acoustic and the electronic. Modern classical, chamber music, field recordings, drones, electro-acoustic, glitch and space music all fall within the loose confides of this genre and we’re embracing it all.

Earthtones began as an expression of how the internet has sort of shrunk the world into a smaller place, where connection has made it possible to communicate; often the expansive physical geography can be forgotten. Earthtones retraces this ground via artists from all four corners of the globe with each track featuring a unique image taken by the artist in and around their location.

The money raised from this third edition will be pooled back into Tessellate Recordings, as we work towards releasing another physical edition in the near future. Watch this space!”

To check out this mammoth compilation, click play above or HERE to be directed to the release page.

credits

Released 23 March 2015
Curated by Harry Towell
Mastered at Axist
Cover artwork by Darkroom”Earthtones is dedicated to the memory of Tim David Brice who passed in January 2014. Many of the artists involved with the Earthtones project had worked with him; may he rest in peace.”Special thanks to: Aaron, Anna, Andreas, Andy, Andrew B, Andrew K, Andrew O, David, Enrico, Gert, Giuseppe, Guy, James, Leigh, Leonardo, Lucho, Mark, Martin, Michael, Miguel, Ross, Sebastian, Stephane, Tim, Tracy,

A CLOSER LISTEN“Turquoise Thread IV” contains a forlorn whistle, the sound of dampened hope. And yet, new textures keep appearing in the background, as if to say, notice, notice. As long as music is being passed between the nations, there is still something to hold onto.”
Full review: http://acloserlisten.com/2014/08/03/vlna-turquoise-threads/

AMBIENT BLOG
“In this day and age, the on-line exchange is a well-known way of collaborative music-making. But I doubt if this album really could have been made by‘ANY two people who had never met before’: these two unknown (?) artists clearly share their vision on what their music should sound like.”Full review: http://www.ambientblog.net/blog/2014-07-29/vlna-turquoise-threads

MUSIC WON’T SAVE YOU
“Swirls of strings suggest an austere neoclassicism of environmental variation, while the irregular veins that run through almost all of the songs veer towards a puzzle composed of flickering electro-acoustic tiles, on which an ethereal female voice oozes sleepy syllables, just above the level of perception.”Full review: http://musicwontsaveyou.com/2014/07/11/vlna-turquoise-threads/

If for some reason you’ve missed it, you can check out ‘Turquoise Threads’ by clicking HERE

We’ve had a couple of enquiries about setting up a mailing list for Tessellate Recordings and our related projects and were recommended to check out MailChimp. Just a few clicks and we decided to take the plunge so to get on board, make sure you sign up by entering your email address on the link provided: CLICK HERE

We’ll send out the occasional email notifying you of forthcoming releases, projects and other notable things worth pointing out.